Saturday, June 25, 2016

Speaking to The New York Times,Paul Simon says he's seriously considering retiring from performing and recording, just days after the 74-year-old scored his highest-ever chart debut as a solo artist with his new LP Stranger to Stranger."It's an act of courage to let go," he said. "I am going to see what happens if I let go. Then I'm going to see, who am I? Or am I just this person that was defined by what I did? And if that's gone, if you have to make yourself, who are you?," he added. And while Simon is surely one of the most famous singer/songwriters of his generation, he told The Times that fame can be dangerous: "I've seen fame turn into absolute poison when I was a kid in the '60s. It killed Presley. It killed Lennon. It killed Michael Jackson. I've never known anyone to have gotten an enormous amount of fame who wasn't, at a minimum, confused by it and had a very hard time making decisions." Simon's 2016 summer tour is set to wrap with the second of two concerts on June 30 at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens, the borough where Simon was raised and met a young Art Garfunkel, the other half of the Hall of Fame inducted vocal act Simon & Garfunkel. This fall, Simon will tour Europe beginning with an Oct. 17 show in Prague, Czech Republic, just four days before he turns 75. In 2017, he says he'll travel and drift, possibly with his wife Edie Brickell if her schedule allows. - Billboard, 6/30/16...... Surviving Bee Gees member Barry Gibb has signed a new recording deal with Columbia Records and will release his second solo album on the label this fall. "This is a dream come true for me," Gibb said in a statement. "It's a new chapter in my life. I always hoped one day that the Bee Gees would be with Columbia or indeed Sony so, it's a great joy for me to start again this way with such great people." Gibb, who returned to live performing in 2013-14 with his Mythology Tour behind a Bee Gees anthology release, has sold tens of millions of albums with his two late brothers Robin and Maurice Gibb as the Bee Gees, most of which were released through Polydor and Atco. "I will never forget my brothers, they will always be a part of everything I do," Gibb said also said in his statement. "Our dream came true." Barry Gibb also helped the UK band Coldplay close the Glastonbury 2016 festival on June 26 with a rendition of "Stayin' Alive." - Billboard, 6/29/16...... The London recording studio owned by Pink Floyd where the band laid down tracks for all of their 1977 album Animals as well as parts of 1979's The Wall is to be converted into flats. Britannia Row in Islington, housed in a Victorian warehouse, was owned by all four members of Pink Floyd, before drummer Nick Mason assumed full ownership after Roger Waters departed from the band. Eventually, Mason moved Britannia Row's recording equipment several miles away to Fulham before selling it to commercial building manager Consortia in the early 1990s. Consortia continued to rent the studio, with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant recording their 1998 LP Walking Into Clarksdale there (it can be seen in the video for that album's single "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It"), as well as other artists including Manic Street Preachers, Bjork, Richard Ashcroft and the Charlatans also recording there. The Islington Council has approved plans to turn two floors of the building into luxury rental space, but say they don't want the whole of the building to be given over to residential space. "We have lost a huge amount of small business space because developers can make much more money converting spaces into residential," one official said. - New Musical Express, 6/30/16...... In late June, the Beatles authorized a new Cirque Du Soleil video for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" to mark the tenth anniversary of the Cirque Du Soleil Beatles show, "The Beatles Love." The show, which opened in 2006, has been hosted by the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas for 10 years now. The remix on the video is the "Love Version" of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and centers on string arrangements made by Beatles producer Sir George Martin for the Love album accompanying Cirque Du Soleil's show. Released in 2006, Love was among the final productions completed by Martin before his death in March 2016. First released in 1968 on the Beatles "White Album," While My Guitar Gently Weeps" features lead guitar from an uncredited Eric Clapton and was inspired by Harrison's interest in the Chinese philosophical book I Ching about the concept of fate and interconnectedness. - New Musical Express, 6/29/16...... In other Beatles-related news, a shirt soaked with the blood of John Lennon has sold at auction for $40,819. The white button down shirt was worn by concierge Jay Hastings as part of his uniform while he was on duty at The Dakota building in New York on Dec. 8, 1980, the fateful day the rock icon was assassinated by deranged fan Mark Chapman as he and wife Yoko Ono entered the porch of The Dakota to go up to their flat. According to Hastings, Lennon stumbled into the entranceway of his station after being shot twice in the back and twice in the shoulder, where Hastings covered Lennon with his suit jacket. In his attempt to aid the ailing star, some of Lennon's blood seeped into the shirt on its chest and sleeves. Hastings says he recently decided to sell the macabre item at auction, where it was expected to reach in the region of $9,216 in the June 25 Heritage Auctions sale. It eventually sold for a staggering $40,819, according to Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper. Garry Shrum of Heritage says that Hastings "kept this shirt all these years and never really spoke about it... It has just been sitting in a drawer for years and now he is getting older he felt it was time to sell it." Shrum also insists that Hastings isn't exploiting John Lennon's death: "He is telling the story of how he tried to help John Lennon in the last few minutes of his life." The auction sale also included a copy of the album Double Fantasy - which includes a handwritten message that reads: "To Jay, Love John Lennon Yoko Ono," as well as a 1978 Thanksgiving card from John and a 1980 typed letter from Yoko thanking the staff of the building for their help two weeks after the singer's death. The buyer of Hastings' collection has apparently chose to remain anonymous. Also sold in a Heritage auction in Beverly Hills is a small lock of David Bowie's hair that was clipped by Wendy Farrier in 1983 so it could be used for his waxwork at Madame Tussauds in London. Farrier had kept the lock of hair, which sold for around $18,500, in a frame for 33 years. - WENN.com/The Hollywood Reporter, 6/27/16...... The online auction site eBay is sponsoring a three-day auction event beginning on June 29 that includes 1,700 lots full of pop-culture memorabilia, including the ruffled silk shirt worn by the late Prince in his movie Purple Rain (starting bid: $3,000), and the motorcycle jacket he wore in the same movie (starting bid: $6,000). Bidding on the auction, which also includes items of clothing worn by such stars as Marilyn Monroe, Britney Spears and Daniel Craig, will take place through 11:00 a.m. PT July 1 on eBay. - The Hollywood Reporter, 6/28/16...... Speaking of Prince, newly-revealed secret recordings made by Michael Jackson in an interview with a UK paper indicate that Jackson wasn't quite as chummy with Prince as he would have everyone believe as the two music mega-stars battled for chart supremacy in the 1980s. In the recently unveiled recording, made in 1988 with The Daily Mirror paper during the writing of Jackson's autobiography Moonwalker, the Gloved One makes clear his dislike for the Purple One. "I have proven myself since I was real little. It's not fair. He feels like I'm his opponent," Jackson told the interviewer. "I hope he changes because boy, he's gonna get hurt. He's the type that might commit suicide or something." Jackson also bristles at comparisons to Prince and himself in the secretly recorded conversation, shared for the first time by the Daily Mirror. "I don't like to be compared to Prince," he says, bluntly. The King of Pop then goes on to describe Prince as "one of the rudest people I have ever met," and says that he had been "mean and nasty to my family." The rivalry has also been confirmed by producer LA Reid, who revealed in his memoirs earlier in 2016 that one of Michael Jackson's hobbies "was laughing at videos of Prince making mistakes." - NME, 6/26/16...... Glenn Symmonds, a former drummer in Eddie Money's band, has added claims of sexual harassment to an age and disability wrongful termination lawsuit he first filed against Money in October 2015. Money says his First Amendment right to artistic expression trumps a claim from Symmonds that he was axed because of his age and disability, according to an anti-SLAPP motion to strike a portion of the complaint filed on June 29 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. For now, Money's attorneys are only addressing the initial complaint that Symmonds was illegally fired because of his age and complications of bladder cancer and a back injury. "Even though Symmonds' claim is frivolous, it raises serious First Amendment concerns," states the motion. "The performance of music is a fundamental First Amendment right. Eddie's choice of the members of his band furthers and is directly connected to this right." Money says the events resulting in the lawsuit were sparked by his decision to tour with his children for the summer of 2015, which he argues is protected artistic expression. The rocker intended to rehire the band after his family tour. Symmonds and his fiancee Tami Landrum responded with a "malicious and unwarranted attack" consisting of disparaging internet posts and threatening voicemails left for concert promoters, Money claims, and that's why the drummer wasn't rehired. Money has also turned to Facebook to tell his fans how he feels about the lawsuit. "Glenn Symmonds and his girlfriend are trying to damage my reputation not only as a professional entertainer, but as a husband and a father," the "Two Tickets to Paradise" singer writes. "Having something like that happen to you is like the Twilight Zone, so preposterous and downright evil." - The Hollywood Reporter, 6/29/16...... Cher has apologized for using a "bomb Emoji" in a tweet about the recent tragedy at the Istanbul Ataturk Airport in Instanbul, Turkey, on June 28. "In support of the victims of the attack that killed 41 people and wounded 239," Cher tweeted, then adding "WE ALL PRAY FOR INNOCENT PPL IN TURKEY AIPORT" along with a bomb emoji. Now, after receiving much backlash from her folowers for the emoji choice, Cher once again took to the service to apologize: "Been thinking about my Poorly Placed,Insensitively Timed 'bomb Emoji.' No ExcuseI'm Used 2 Using Emoji 2Help Say More Than 140 Letters.Sorry," she tweeted. The singer is known for using multiple emojis in her tweets and actively uses the social media site to share her thoughts to her more than 3 million followers on the current political climate around the world. - Billboard, 6/29/16...... Rod Stewart's current "Hits Tour" of Europe, which is nearing the end of his eight-week trek through 11 European countries, is doing big business on the continent, with sales from four events in Sweden, Poland and England totaling $6.7 million, earning the tour a slot among the 10 top-grossing tours of the week. Stewart's tour ranks second to only Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's summer European jaunt, who slotted higher due to ticket sales totaling $14.9 million from two stadium dates on his current "The River Tour." Stewart kicked off his tour on May 14 at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome, and it will continue through July 9, wrapping with an appearance at the Cap Roig Festival staged at an outdoor site on the Mediterranean Sea near Calella, Spain. - Billboard, 6/29/16...... Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley has filed for divorce from her fourth husband, guitarist Michael Lockwood, after the two were wed for more than 10 years. According to court documents filed on June 24 in Los Angeles Superior Court, Presley has been separated from Lockwood since June 10 and cites irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. Presley and Lockwood were wed in Jan. 2006, and have 7-year-old twin daughters together. Presley was previously married to Danny Keogh, Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage. - AP, 6/28/16...... In a recent interview with a country radio station, Charlie Daniels said the US "has enough gun control laws" and that "the laws we have now are not being enforced." "These guns laws are cosmetic... It's like taking cars away to stop car wrecks. It's the drunk drivers that are the problem. You'll clean it up by taking the bad drivers off of the road," added Daniels, who released his last album Live at Billy Bob's Texas, in Oct. of 2015. - Billboard, 6/28/16...... In other Southern Rock news, Lynyrd Skynyrd will be the subject of a new biopic written by the band's drummer Artimus Pyle. Named "Free Bird" after the band's biggest hit, the film will center around the 1977 plane crash that claimed the lives of their lead singer, Ronnie Van Zant, and their new guitarist Steve Gaines. Pyle co-wrote the script with the film's director, Jared Cohn, and filming is set to begin later in 2016. Pyle, who played with Skynyrd from 1974 until 1999, told Deadline.com: "The film's story, which is my story, is not just about the plane crash, but also about my personal relatonship with the genius that was Ronnie Van Zant. I loved him like a brother and still miss him to this day." Lynyrd Skynyrd still tours and are currently on a US run with Peter Frampton until September. - New Musical Express, 6/27/16...... Ozzy Osbourne, who will play his final series of concerts with Black Sabbath in the UK from Jan. 22 until Feb. 4, says he's disappointed Sabbath's final tour will be coming to an end and says he wanted to continue playing with the iconic heavy metal band. "It's not me that wants to retire, it's Black Sabbath," Osbourne says. "I'll be continuing my own musical thing. My wife is good at telling me partial information, but I know I'm not hanging my boots up for a while." Osbourne added that he couldn't persuade guitarist Tony Iommi to continue the tour beyond its contracted 80 shows. "Tony wants to do 80 shows and we're doing 80 shows. It's good enough, but I wouldn't mind extending the tour for another few gigs. There's a lot of people who won't get to see us, but I don't think it's going to happen," he said. Sabbath wraps up its current European tour on July 12 and returns for a final run through North America on Aug. 17, with late-year dates in South America before next year's end run in the UK. - NME, 6/28/16...... Keith Richards has signed on to host his own weekend of shows on the UK's BBC Four television channel. Richards' Lost Weekend of shows will air in the fall, and the BBC says it's likely to include "documentaries, films and live performances." Richards will introduce both night's shows in excerpts directed by Julien Temple. Temple has also directed a new documentary about Richards, Keith Richards -- The Origin Of The Species. The hour-long show, which BBC2 will screen in July, sees Richards talk about his childhood in post-war Kent. - NME, 6/29/16...... A new Jimmy Buffett musical, "Escape to Margaritaville," will have its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in the San Diego area, producers announced on June 27. The limited engagement will begin previews on May 16, 2017, ahead of its opening night on May 28, and will play through June 25. "Escape to Margaritaville" will feature both original songs and Buffett classics. It tells the story of a tropical island resort and its charming bartender-singer who falls for a beautiful, career-minded tourist. - Billboard, 6/27/16...... Fans attending a Billy Joel tribute band show in Huntington, N.Y., on June 24 were treated to a real surprise -- an appearance by the Piano Man himself. Joel was in the audience with this wife, Alexis Roderick, when he decided to join the band Big Shot for a three-song set, including covers of the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends," done Joe Cocker-style, the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women, and one of Joel's own biggest hits, "You May Be Right," which was blended with Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll." Joel told the crowd that he lives "down the road" from Huntington's Paramount Theater and decided to catch the show. - AP, 6/25/16...... After being a big hit at this year's Glastonbury Festival, Jeff Lynne's ELO have announced a show at London's Wembley Stadium on June 24, 2017, which is also the Saturday of next year's Glastonbury festival. Officially billed in full as "Jeff Lynne's ELO" due to copyright issues over the name between Lynne and his former bandmates, the band's tour ended with a homecoming show in Birmingham on June 24 before their slot on June 26 in the traditional "legends" slot of Glatsonbury. In 2015, Lynne and his new band released Alone in the Universe, his first album under an ELO name since the group split in 1986. - NME, 6/27/16...... Rob Wasserman, a versatile, Grammy-winning bassist, composer and producer who worked with such major rock artists as Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, Rickie Lee Jones and Bob Weir, died on June 29 after a battle with undisclosed health complaints. He was 64. A classical trained violinist, Wasserman took up the upright bass at age 20, and began performing with the likes of Van Morrison and Oingo Boingo and before forming a band with David Grisman. "My great friend Rob Wasserman is facing a serious health struggle today," Bob Weir tweeted on June 29. "Please share the strength of our family with him and his family," he added. Wasserman's last album, the six-CD set Fall 1989: The Long Island Sound, with Jerry Garcia Band and Weir, dropped in Dec. 2013. - Billboard, 6/30/16...... Scotty Moore, the rockabilly guitarist who was teamed up with Elvis Presley by Sun Records producer Sam Phillips in 1954 to record "That's All Right (Mama)," died at his home in Nashville, Tenn., on June 28. He was 84. Alongside bassist Bill Black and drummer DJ Fontana, their backing band The Blue Moon Boys, Mr. Moore played on a string of Presley classics including "Jailhouse Rock," "Blue Suede Shoes," "Mystery Train" and "Hound Dog." Born near Gadsden, Tenn., in 1931, Mr. Moore learned guitar at an early age. He was a fan of jazz and country and was strongly influenced by Chet Atkins and Les Paul. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he settled in Memphis, working at a dry cleaning plant during the day and playing music after his shift was over. Phillips, who had not been impressed with Presley at first, had called in Moore and Black to work with the young singer. After appearing in four of Presley's films including Jailhouse Rock and GI Blues, Mr. Moore was fired by Phillips in 1964 for breaking his contract by releasing a solo album, The Guitar That Changed The World. He was reunited with Presley in 1968 for Elvis' famous "comeback special" on NBC, which saw Moore and Presley play Mr. Moore's trademark Gibson Super 400 guitar. Throughout his long career, Mr. Moore also played with the likes of Carl Perkins, Jeff Beck, Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood. Keith Richards credits Mr. Moore as the musician who made him want to take up the guitar. "When I heard 'Heartbreak Hotel', I knew what I wanted to do in life. It was as plain as day," Richards once said. "All I wanted to do in life was to be able to play and sound like that. Everyone else wanted to be Elvis, but I wanted to be Scotty." Mr. Moore was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. - NME, 6/29/16...... Mack Rice, the composer of '60s hit "Mustang Sally" and co-writer of the Staple Singers' song "Respect Yourself," died in his Detroit home on June 27 of complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 82. "Sir" Mack Rice was best known for writing "Mustang Sally," which he initially recorded but singer Wilson Pickett popularized. They had been in a group together called The Falcons, which recorded in Detroit. Mr. Rice was a songwriter for Memphis, Tennessee-based Stax Records and split his time between there and Detroit, where he moved from Mississippi as a teen. He wrote "Respect Yourself" with late R&B singer-songwriter Luther Ingram for the Staple Singers, which became Stax's biggest hit. According to his wife Laura, Mack wrote the song in about 15 minutes after talking with other musicians in the studio about the need for people to respect themselves in order to be respected by others. A tribute service has been scheduled for July 6 at Detroit's New Bethel Baptist Church. A funeral service is set for July 7. - AP, 6/28/16.

After a week's worth of testimony and arguments, Led Zeppelin won the "Stairway to Heaven" lawsuit on June 23, in which the iconic heavy metal band was accused of copying the song's iconic guitar riff from Spirit's 1968 instrumental "Taurus." During the trial, Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant testified as well as Michael Skidmore, the Trustee of Spirit songwriter Randy Wolfe's estate, who demanded in his lawsuit a rewriting of rock n' eoll history. The jury also heard from a Spirit band member, musicologists and other witnesses and experts opining on such subjects as whether Led Zeppelin had heard "Taurus" before composing their popular song and whether the two songs were substantially similar. After less than a day's worth of deliberation, the eight-member jury decided in favor of Zeppelin and various subsidiaries of Warner Music, saying that although Page and Plant had indeed heard the song before penning "Stairway," there was no substantial similarity in the extrinsic elements of "Taurus" and "Stairway." The decision came after the jury took one last listen of both songs. After the verdict, Page and Plant put out a joint statement. "We are grateful for the jury's conscientious service and pleased that it has ruled in our favor, putting to rest questions about the origins of 'Stairway to Heaven' and confirming what we have known for 45 years," they said. "We appreciate our fans' support, and look forward to putting this legal matter behind us." Francis Malofiy, the attorney for the plaintiff, reacted to the decision by saying that he lost his case on "a technicality" and said he may appeal, but several legal experts say overturning the jury's verdict would be a steep climb. "I think it would be a waste of time and money," says music litigator William Hochberg. "I would suggest that they think long and hard about whether they really want to go forward with an appeal." - Billboard, 6/23/16...... After 46 years together as one of America's premier hard rock bands, Aerosmith have announced they're going on a "permanent vacation." Appearing on Howard Stern's radio show on June 24, frontman Steven Tyler confirmed that the band, which was founded in Boston in 1970, will embark on a farewell tour in 2017. "We're doing a farewell tour, but only because it's time," Tyler told Stern. "I love this band, I really do, and I want to squash every thought that anybody might have about this. Look, there's two bands that still have the original members, us and the Stones. I'm grateful for that," he added. Taken aback by the revelation, Stern made Tyler confirm that the band were indeed doing a farewell tour next year. "I think so, next year," the singer said. Asked whether guitarist Joe Perry is aware of Aerosmith's farewell plans, Tyler responded with a simple "Mmhmm." Tyler, meanwhile, is prepping for the release of his new Country music inspired album, We're All Somebody From Somewhere, which drops on July 15. Its title track was released as a single on June 24. Aerosmith's last studio LP, Music From Another Dimension, was released in 2012. - New Musical Express, 6/24/16...... Foghat is celebrating its 40th anniversary with Under the Influence, its first new album in six years, which hit stores on June 24. The LP includes a remake of the band's biggest hit, "Slow Ride," which Foghat drummer Roger Earl says is "kind of a nod and a tribute to (late Foghat guitarists) Rod Price and to Lonesome Dave (Peverett)." It just seemed like a good idea, and it was easy and fun to do. I love playing the song, even after all these years," said Earl, who is the sole original Foghat member left in the band's lineup. Under the Influence also features a contribution of former Savoy Brown leader Kim Simmonds. "Playing with Kim was a real thrill for me again," Earl notes. "He gave me my first job when I was 20, in Savoy Brown. We've met each other over the years and we've jammed together. It was like a full-circle thing for me." - Billboard, 6/23/16...... Sting and Peter Gabriel kicked off their "Rock, Paper, Scissors" summer co-headlining tour at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Oh., on June 21. After opening the evening with Gabriel's 1982 song "The Rhythm of the Heat" and Sting's 1993 hit "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You," the two convened in the middle of the stage. For more than three hours they traded numbers, sometimes sharing vocal duties and offering accompaniment, other times ceding the stage, and on a couple occasions covering each other's songs. Gabriel took a stab at Sting's first big solo hit, "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free," while Sting used the first bit of the 1973 Genesis tune "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" as a lead-in to a powerful version of the Police chestnut "Message In a Bottle." The pair encored with their biggest individual hits, "Every Breath You Take" and "Sledgehammer." - Billboard, 6/22/16...... The Rolling Stones' "Exhibitionism" museum tour will make its United States debut at the West Village's Industria Superstudio this November, it was announced on June 21. So far, a specific date in November for the New York City debut has not been shared. "Exhibitionism" features instruments, clothing, artwork, film, photos and more, chronicling the Stones' journey since the early '60s. It opened at London's Saatchi Gallery in early April 2016. - Billboard, 6/21/16...... Reports have surfaced that Michael Jackson owned a disturbing photographic collection of child pornography and animal abuse that was allegedly discovered during a raid by authorities at his Neverland Ranch in California in 2003 as part of their investigation into his child molestation allegations. It has been speculated that Jackson used the materials, which included pictures of children's faces superimposed on adult bodies, to desensitize children for abuse. Other images, according to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, reportedly featured S&M and animal torture and gore. "We identified five different boys, who all made allegations of sexual abuse," said ormer Santa Barbara Senior Assistant District Attorney Ron Zonen. "There's not much question in my mind that Michael was guilty of child molestation," he added. On June 21, the Jackson estate issued a statement claiming the "content that appears to be obtained off the Internet or through unknown sources" is false, and that it was "no doubt timed to the [seventh] anniversary of Michael's passing." "Those who continue to shamelessly exploit Michael via sleazy internet 'click bait' ignore that he was acquitted by a jury in 2005 on every one of the 14 salacious charges brought against him in a failed witch hunt... Michael remains just as innocent of these smears in death as he was in life even though he isn't here to defend himself. Enough is enough," the statement went on. Jackson was acquitted of allegedly molesting then 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo in 2005. He died of cardiac arrest in 2009. - VanityFair.com, 6/23/16...... In other Jackson family news, the wife of Jermaine Jackson filed divorce papers on June 21, citing irreconcilable differences, and listed Nov. 28 as the date of separation. The couple's separation fell on the same day Jackson's wife, Halima Rashid, was arrested and booked on suspicion of corporal felony injury on a spouse after an incident at the couple's California home. In the divorce papers, Rashid is seeking spousal support. She and Jermaine have no children together. - WENN.com, 6/23/16...... In related news, Don McLean and his wife Patrisha finalized their divorce on June 20 and agreed to a $10 million settlement. A spokesman for McLean said that the "American Pie" singer "chose to ignore a premarital agreement" and provide the settlement. Patrisha McLean, an author and photographer, filed for divorce citing "adultery, cruel and abusive treatment, and irreconcilable differences" in legal papers. The couple, who have been married for about 30 years, have two adult children. In January, Don McLean was arrested in January in his hometown of Camden, Maine, on charges including domestic violence assault. He has pleaded not guilty. - AP, 6/21/16...... Frank Zappa's 8,000 square foot home in Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon neighborhood where the musician lived with his family from 1968 until his death in 1993 has been put on the market for $5.4 million. The 7-bedroom property at 7885 Woodrow Wilson Drive includes the fabled "Utility Muffin Research Kitchen" where Zappa recorded his jazz-rock albums and composed his symphonies, as well as "The Vault," a chamber beneath the house where Zappa stored thousands of hours of unreleased recordings, video and family artifacts. The sale of the property has been caught up in a dispute among Zappa's four children, who have been battling each other since their mother Gail Zappa died in 2015. - Billboard, 6/24/16...... '70s artists The Eagles, James Taylor and Mavis Staples will be among the 2016 Kennedy Center Honorees in Washington, D.C., this winter, the The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced on June 23. The recognition will be a bittersweet one for the Eagles, who were originally tapped for the honor in 2015, but were forced to postpone their appearance because of founding member Glenn Frey's failing health. Frey died in January, about a month after the honors gala. The Eagles issued a statement on June 24, saying "We accept this honor in memory of our comrade and fellow traveler, Eagles founder Glenn Frey... we always felt very fortunate that our music was embraced by people from all walks of life, all over the world." James Taylor, who attended the ceremony for his good friend Carole King in 2015, said that "the prospect of attending the Kennedy Center Honors again, this time as an honoree, is astonishing... I am deeply moved to be included in such august company." The honorees, which this year also include actor Al Pacino and Argentine pianist Martha Argerich, will be celebrated at a gala on Dec. 4, featuring performances and tributes from top entertainers. The show will be broadcast on Dec. 27 on CBS. - AP, 6/23/16...... In other Eagles-related news, Joe Walsh dedicated his entire concert to Glenn Frey as Walsh's "One Hell of a Night" summer tour hit Frey's hometown of Detroit on June 22. The show at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Independence Township, Mich., was the first visit by an Eagles member to Frey's hometown since Frey's death on Jan. 18. As he's done ever other night on the tour, Walsh played the Eagles' "Take It To The Limit," but instead of just dedicating the song to Frey, Walsh announced he was "dedicating the entire show...to my brother and my fellow bandmate." The song was accompanied by video screen footage of an eagle soaring in the sky and finished with a photo of the Eagles. Walsh also recognized Frey at the end of the show, adding a portion of "Heartache Tonight" to the encore and saying, "That's for you, Glenn." - Billboard, 6/23/16...... Paul Simon, who is in the midst of a two-month solo tour to support his new album Stranger to Stranger, took a break to discuss his new career-high ranking hit album and other topics including Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump with Billboard. "I'll say this about Trump: Anger is an addiction. We like it. The brain likes it. And now you've got a country full of addicts," Simon said. "And the media and certain politicians are the dealers. So everybody's angry all the time, and they're all juiced up. I'm not saying there's nothing to be angry about. What I'm saying is, you can't make a calm decision when somebody's got you in a rage. The political game has become very different now. A lot of people recognize it and are exploiting it," he added. - Billboard, 6/23/16...... Two David Bowie tribute concerts are set for Spain, on July 1 at Madrid's Real Jard-n Botnico Alfonso XIII and July 2 at Barcelona's Sala Razzmatazz. Over a dozen of Spain's most popular indie-rock artists will perform a set list of 21 Bowie covers, anchored by a band of several Bowie colaborators. All proceeds from the Bowie concerts will go to charity organizations. Meanwhile, thousands of Bowie fans celebrated the life of Bowie on June 23 at this year's Glastonbury Festival in the UK. The Pyramid Stage was decorated with a giant lightning bolt in tribute to the siinger, and fans paid tribute to the star further by singing his most famous hits. The performance was organised by a group who dubbed the event "GlastonBowie." - New Musical Express, 6/22/16...... Meat Loaf has announced he will release a new album titled Braver Than We Are on Sept. 16 that will feature 10 never-before-released compositions by Bat Out of Hell songwriter Jim Steinman. The album is the fourth release from Meat Loaf that features work solely written by Steinman. The singer has also shared a new song from the upcoming LP, "Going All the Way," which features additional vocals by Ellen Foley and Karla DeVito. On June 16, Meat Loaf was hospitalised after collapsing on stage during a gig in the Candian city of Edmonton, Alberta. He is now "stable and in good condition," according to his representative. - NME, 6/23/16...... Former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has penned an impassioned pro-gun control essay on his official website, in reaction to the recent massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. "No matter what some of my friends seem to imply, I firmly believe we can have gun control and reduce gun violence in this country. Allow me to be optimistic. At this point, any cause for hope is worth considering," wrote Byrne, who made it clear that he's for gun control in the follow-up to a recent post urging Americans to vote. "I believe the situation in the U.S. is unacceptable; more controls are necessary, and there is proof that they can work. Just look at the data. There is a staggering split in U.S. gun deaths and gun deaths in a host of other countries," he added. "The public feeling is already there: Everyone should not have the right to risk everyone else's life and take away the freedom of others. We have countered these arguments before, from slavery to seat belts to smoking, and we can do it again. We're better than this," he said in closing. - Billboard, 6/22/16...... Bill Ham, the longtime manager for ZZ Top, died in his sleep on June 20. He was 79. Ham is heralded as an innovator in the music business and praised for his modest demeanor that preferred attention be focused on his artists rather than himself. Ham formed his Lone Wolf Management company in 1968 to manage the Texas-based psych rock group The Moving Sidewalks featuring future ZZ Top member Billy Gibbons. When that group disbanded, Ham continued his relationship with Gibbons' next project, ZZ Top. Throughout ZZ Top's career, Ham acted often as the group's producer and occasionally as a songwriting partner. Their long and fruitful business relationship ended in 2006. "We were saddened to hear of Bill Ham's passing. His early vision and continuing encouragement were invaluable; his efforts and energy will always remain deeply appreciated," the members of ZZ Top said in a statement after hearing of Ham's death. - Billboard, 6/22/16...... Bernie Worrell, a legendary Funk keyboardist with Parliament-Funkadelic, died on June 24 following a battle with lung cancer. He was 72. As part of Parliament-Funkadelic, Worrell's indelible keyboard skills -- including his pioneering use of Minimoog on songs like Parliament's "Flash Light" -- were a major influence on R&B in the '80s, hip-hop, new wave and early electronic music. He was also a regular contributor to the New Wave band Talking Heads in the 1980s, appearing on several of their albums and featuring in the classic documentary Stop Making Sense. In 1997, the Long Branch, N.J.-born Worrell was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by the late Prince alongside George Clinton, Bootsy Collins and 13 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. - Billboard, 6/24/16...... Ralph Stanley, a bluegrass legend known for such songs as "The Lonesome River," "White Dove" and "Man of Constant Sorrow," died on June 23 at age 89. Mr. Stanley and his brother Carter Stanley formed the Stanley Brothers and their Clinch Mountain Boys in 1946. Mr. Stanley won a Grammy for best male country vocal performance in 2002, and despite health problems, he continued to record and tour into his 80s, often performing with his son Ralph Stanley II on guitar and his grandson Nathan on mandolin. - AP, 6/23/16...... Wayne Jackson, a trumpet player with the Memphis Horns, who performed on recordings by the likes of such artists as Otis Redding, Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond and U2, died on June 21. He was 74. Jackson formed the Memphis Horns with the late Andrew Love, a tenor saxophonist who died in 2012, and the duo played together on 52 No. 1 records and 83 gold and platinum records, according to Memphis-based Stax Records. His wife, Amy Jackson, said her husband received his first gold record in 1961 and his last in 2005. Their horn tracks can be heard on such classic songs as Redding's "Dock of the Bay," Franklin's "Respect," Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," Presley's "Suspicious Minds," Sam & Dave's "Soul Man," Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," Steve Winwood's "Roll With It," Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer," and U2's "Angel of Harlem." "He led an incredible life and he left an amazing music legacy," Amy Jackson said. - AP, 6/22/16...... Country artist Freddy Powers, who worked with Merle Haggard for several decades, died on June 21 at the age of 84, ending a long battle with Parkinson's disease. Freddy Powers and Haggard penned such chart-topping Country hits as "I Always Get Lucky With You," "A Friends in California," "Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room Tonight" and others. Powers also produced Willie Nelson's Grammy-winning, No. 1 Country album Somewhere Over the Rainbow from 1981. - Billboard, 6/22/16.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Moviemaker J.J. Abrams is teaming up with author/broadcaster Tavis Smiley to adapt the latter's new book, Before You Judge Me: The Triumph and Tragedy of Michael Jackson's Last Days, into a TV series. Smiley's book, which hits stores on June 21, is described as a taut novelistic rendering of the final months in the life of Michael Jackson, examining his highs and lows as he endured the pressures of fame that made him socially fragile and almost unable to live. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and Tavis Smiley TV & Film have yet to sign a network deal for the series yet, and are expected to shop it to broadcast, cable, premium cable and streaming services. - The Hollywood Reporter, 6/20/16...... Posting on his Facebook page, musician/producer Brian Eno has urged his fellow British citizens to vote "remain" in the upcoming EU Referendum. "I have a lot of misgivings about the way the EU is run, but they don't make me want to ditch the whole idea," Eno explained. "I feel the EU is one of the only restraints on the kind of neo-liberal market fundamentalism that has seen inequality rising throughout the world. I feel that it has been a net force for good in promoting enlightened social and environmental agendas. It could and should be doing a better job at all these things, but to do any job at all it needs our support. The only good outcome of this referendum is that it might remind us what the original mission of the EU was, and might motivate us to actually make it happen," Eno added. "So...please vote. And please ask your friends to do the same." - NME, 6/19/16...... Rocker Meat Loaf was hospitalised on June 16 after collapsing on stage during a concert in Edmonton, Alberta. A video of the incident shows Meat Loaf dropping his mic and falling to the floor. As his band members walked over to help, the music eventually went silent, and the audience members were asked to vacate the Jubillee Auditorium venue. The 68-year-old Meat Loaf, whose real name is Marvin Lee Aday, had canceled two other concerts recently citing ill health. A hospital spokesman declined to provide an update on Meat Loaf's condition, citing patient privacy. - AP, 6/17/16...... Phil Collins announced on June 15 that he will publish his autobiography, entitled Not Dead Yet: The Memoir, in October 2016. Collins, 65, promises to "talk honestly" about his three failed marriages, his alcoholism and his ill health, as well as discuss the highs and lows of his long career as a member of Genesis and a superstar solo artist in the 1980s. "In many respects I've had a dream life," Collins said in a press release. "I've been incredibly lucky, but I've also worked extremely hard. I've collaborated with some of my heroes, written songs that people have liked, and wildly surpassed my initial hope to make a living as a drummer. Throughout, there have been lots of highs, and more than a few lows. I'm being completely honest about all of them, embarrassingly so in some cases. Some things might amuse people, some will surprise them. Horrify them, even." Collins announced that he was "no longer officially retired in Oct. 2015, and in March, he played his first solo gig in six years at a charity event in Miami. Collins' book will be published by Century publishers in hardback, audio and Ebook form on Oct. 20. - New Musical Express, 6/15/16...... Speaking of Genesis, former frontman Peter Gabriel released a new seven-minute song celebrating the late Muhammad Ali on June 16. In the track, titled "I'm Amazing," Gabriel sings "Look at me, look at me, can you see what I can do?" Gabriel sings. "'Cause I'm amazing." Posting on Facebook, Gabriel explained that he wrote the song a few years ago and it was, in part, "inspired by Muhammad Ali's life and struggles." "At the time of his death, when so many people are celebrating his life and thinking about all he achieved, it seemed the right time to release it," he wrote. - Billboard, 6/16/16...... Lawyers representing Led Zeppelin are asking the judge presiding over the "Stairway to Heaven" trial to halt the proceedings, arguing that Michael Skidmore, the trustee for the late Spirit guitarist Randy California, has failed to establish burden of proof during three days of testimony. "Although the parties' pre-trial filings identified what plaintiff Michael Skidmore needed to prove to establish his claims, Skidmore failed to prove required elements of his claims for direct, contributory and vicarious copyright infringement," Led Zeppelin's attorney Peter J. Anderson said in a statement. During the trial, Skidmore's attorney, Francis Malolfiy, played Spirit's "Taurus" alongside "Stairway To Heaven" and tried to ascertain that Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page had heard Spirit's track before writing the Led Zeppelin classic. Taking the stand, Page denied this, claiming he only first heard "Taurus" a few years ago. "Something like that would stick in my mind. It was totally alien to me," he said. However, Page did acknowledge that he owned three Spirit albums in his personal collection and that Led Zeppelin used a riff from another Spirit track in a medley played during their first tour in Scandinavia. Taking the stand on June 17, Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones said he never heard the band Spirit play, never met them and didn't own any of their albums. On June 15, former Spirit member Mark Andes shared his view that that riffs from both songs were the same. If Judge R. Gary Klausner gets past arguments of non-ownership of "Taurus," he will also have to decide whether there's enough evidence to let a jury decide whether Randy California's song has been infringed. - New Musical Express, 6/20/16...... Former Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore played his first rock gig in 19 years on June 17 at Germany's Monsters Of Rock festival in Loreley, then the following evening another performance at Bietghiem-Bissingen. Since 1997, Blackmore has played traditional-style baroque folk music with his band Blackmore's Night, the duo he formed with his partner Candice Knight. Blackmore has rejected playing traditional venues to perform in small clubs. Performing under the name Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, his set was divided between six Deep Purple songs including "Smoke On The Water" and six by Journey, such as "Spotlight Kid"' as well as Journey's cover of Russ Ballard's "Since You Been Gone." Blackmore founded Deep Purple in 1968 with singer David Coverdale, before quitting in 1975 to form Rainbow. Blackmore rejected an invitation to rejoin Deep Purple in 2015 when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. - NME, 6/20/16...... The '60s pop group The Turtles have announced they will release a career-spanning box set that will feature the band's six long-out-of-print albums this summer. Due on Aug. 19, The Complete Original Albums Collection will boast all the music the Turtles released between 1965 and 1970. Also, a 2-disc set of all the band's singles, All the Singles, will also be released featuring every White Whale label single and its b-side. The Turtles' legal battle over their pre-1972 recordings continues to wind its way through the courts, as the band wants a ruling whether copyright owners have exclusive performance rights over their pre-1972 tracks. - Billboard, 6/20/16...... Director Ron Howard's new Beatles documentary, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week -- The Touring Years, will debut on Sept. 17 on the streaming service Hulu.com, one day after it bows in select U.S. theaters, its producers have announced. The film -- made with cooperation from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison -- recounts the first part of the band's' career, 1962 through 1966. A world premiere is planned for Sept. 15 in London. Meanwhile, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which owns the rights to most Lennon/McCartney lyrics, has enlisted the global branding and licensing firm Epic Rights to help put the lyrics of some of the Beatles' most classic songs on everyday products. Potential licensing ventures include greeting cards ("Hey Jude"), door mats ("Hello Goodbye") or coffee ("A Day in the Life"). "We envision a broad licensed products campaign that encompasses everything from apparel, accessories and wall art to home electronics, gifts, stationery, and more," an executive with Epic Rights said. Sony/ATV owns the songs originally published by Lennon/McCartney's Northern Songs, which was purchased by Michael Jackson in 1985 and dissolved ten years later when Jackson merged his catalog with Sony Music. - Billboard, 6/20/16...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, Paul McCartney showed solidarity with the LGBT community following the recent mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., during a gig in Berlin on June 14. The Beatles legend came on stage draped in a rainbow flag and told the crowd: "We stand together with Orlando." Sir Paul's fellow rock music legend, Elton John, has also tweeted his condolences to the Orlando and LGBT community: "Our hearts go out to all the families and loved ones of those lost in Orlando," he posted. - New Musical Express, 6/15/16...... Steely Dan played a one-off symphonic charity gig with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at the famed venue in Los Angeles on June 18. A good number of the Donald Fagen and Walter Becker songs kicked off with a 15-to-30-second orchestral fanfare that let the audience get a touch of the baroque before the band's trademark hard soul kicked in. The duo also changed their normal set list to include six songs that have rarely or not at all been heard on their current tour, like "Night by Night" and "The Caves of Altamira." The 13-song show benefited the L.A. Philharmonic's high schooler-mentoring Composer Fellowship Program, raising $1.7 million for the charity. - Billboard, 6/19/16...... Bob Dylan's 2016 American tour hit Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium on June 16, after a few gigs further up the coast. For almost the first time in his 55-year career, Dylan has not altering the set list at all from night to night, with seven selections from his recent two albums of Frank Sinatra covers dominating the show along with nine original numbers from the year 2000 forward. Dylan's 20-song set included the encores "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Love Sick," with the latter being the only song that that sounds anything like contemporary rock as we know it. - Billboard, 6/18/16...... Jimmy Buffett paid tribute to two of Detroit's most famous recently fallen icons -- late Eagles member Glenn Frey and hockey great Gordie Howe, during a show at the DTE Energy Music Theatre on June 18. Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band played a version of the Eagles' "Take It Easy," posting a photo of Frey. He also included footage of Howe, the Detroit Red Wings hockey legend who died on June 10. - Billboard, 6/19/16...... Movie director Ray Burdis, who is helming a new Quadrophenia-inspired film To Be Someone, is defending his movie after being attacked by the Who. Burdis says he doesn't intend it to be a sequel to the Who's 1979 Quadrophenia film. "I totally agree that Quadrophenia is a classic, iconic film that should never be revisited," Burdis says. "If The Who management had actually read the script of To Be Someone, they would have realised it is not an attempt at a Quadrophenia sequel but a stand-alone film based on modern day Mod culture. It's a feel good, fun, fashion and music extravaganza... I have never stated that it was a sequel," he added. When the Who learned of Burdis' project, they issued a statement disassociating themselves from it and called it "totally ridiculous." Burdis did admit that he had hoped to cast Roger Daltrey in his film, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards. "I'm sorry that the Who's management feel affronted, as I would have loved Roger Daltrey to play a role, but there you go," he said. - New Musical Express, 6/20/16...... A lock of David Bowie's hair is to be auctioned off on June 25 by L.A.'s Heritage Auctions and is expected to sell for approximately £3,000. The hair snippet was kept by Wendy Farrier, who took a small chunk of Bowie's hair when he posed for his waxwork at Madame Tussauds in London in 1983. Farrier cut some of Bowie's hair for the waxwork's wig, but kept a small lock which is being sold off 33 years later. The hair is among several Bowie rarities being sold at the auction, with other items including a signed copy of his 1971 LP Hunky Dory, a signed drawing by the singer from 1996, and a gold disc of Bowie's 1983 album Let's Dance. Meanwhile, on June 19 Bowie's widow Iman posted a picture on Twitter of her late husband with their daughter to mark Father's Day. The photo shows Bowie holding the couple's daughter, Alexandria "Lexi" Zahra Jones, when she was a baby. "Happy Fathers Day #LexiLove," Iman tweeted. - NME, 6/20/16...... Blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa is set to be inducted into the Cavern Club's "Wall of Fame" on June 27 ahead of his gig at the U.K. venue later that evening. Bonamassa's free show at Liverpool's famous cellar club is a "thank you" to his British fans for the support they have shown him through his career. The show will pay homage to some of Bonamassa's musical inspirations including Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, the latter two of already whom also feature in the Cavern's "Wall of Fame." - Noble PR, 6/20/16...... British pop singer Cliff Richard says he is "thrilled" that authorities in the UK have announced that they will not pursue charges against him over allegations that he sexually abused four boys more than three decades ago. "After almost two years under police investigation I learnt today that they have finally closed their enquiries," Richard posted on June 16. "I have always maintained my innocence, co-operated fully with the investigation, and cannot understand why it has taken so long to get to this point! Nevertheless, I am obviously thrilled that the vile accusations and the resulting investigation have finally been brought to a close." Britain's Crown Prosecution Service announced that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute the 75-year-old Richard, who has never been arrested on the charges but twice voluntarily met officers from South Yorkshire Police after it launched an inquiry in 2014. "I have always maintained my innocence, co-operated fully with the investigation, and cannot understand why it has taken so long to get to this point," Richard added. Richard, who was often called "Britain's Elvis Presley" early in his career, has had 14 No. 1 singles in Britain, and is the only singer to have topped the UK singles chart in five consecutive decades, from the 50s to the 90s. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1995. - Reuters, 6/16/16...... Rick Parfitt, a member of the U.K. rock band Status Quo, was hospitalised in Antalya, Turkey on June 16 following a suspected heart attack. Status Quo had been performing at the city's Expo 2016 event before the incident. Parfitt underwent a quadruple heart bypass in 1997 and suffered a heart attack in 2011. The band's manager said no further comment will be made "until the completion of the next round of tests and assessments," and asked that "the family's privacy be respected at this difficult time." - NME, 6/16/16...... Actress Ronnie Claire Edwards, best known for her portrayal of Corabeth Godsey in the '70s series The Waltons, died on June 14. She was 83. Ms. Edwards made her debut in the third season of The Waltons as a as a mousy spinster who, after some persuasion from John Walton (Ralph Waite) and his wife Olivia (Michael Learned), hesitantly marries storekeeper Ike Godsey after his proposal following their first date. She appeared in over 100 episodes. - Variety, 6/16/16...... Ann Morgan Guilbert, known as the spirited neighbor Millie Helper in the classic '60s sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, died on June 14 in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer. She was 87. Ms. Guilbert's decades-long career began in the 1950s as a featured performer and singer in the Billy Barnes Revues. After the Dick Van Dyke Show, she appeared in guest roles in several series including the premiere episode of Adam-12, The Andy Griffith Show, That Girl and Dragnet, among others. Her next big TV role came in the 1990s as Yetta Rosenberg opposite Fran Drescher in The Nanny. - Deadline.com, 6/15/16...... Janet Waldo, a voice-over actress who played sprightly teenagers for decades on several popular cartoon shows, most notably The Jetsons as Judy Jetson, died on June 12 at her home in Encino, Calif. She was 96. - The New York Times, 6/15/16.

Queen and their current guest vocalist Adam Lambert dedicted the band's 1986 song "Who Wants to Live Forever" to the victims of the recent mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., during their set at the U.K.'s Isle of Wight Festival in Newport, U.K. on June 12. "This song is dedicated to those who lost their lives last night in Orlando, Florida, and anyone who has been a victim of senseless violence or hatred," Lambert announced before Queen closed their headlining set with a moving and emotional performance of the song. Meanwhile, at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts festival in Manchester, Tenn., also on June 12, former Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir accepted the Les Paul Spirit Award early in the day before his current band Dead & Company played two sets that evening. Weir said he accepted the award with a "heavy heart" due to the Orlando massacre, and went on to draw a parallel between the radical belief of ISIS and those of homophobes. "It's the same hatred," said Weir. "They pull those hatreds out of different books but it's the same." - Billboard, 6/13/16...... Brian Wilson headlined Brooklyn, N.Y.'s Northside Festival on June 12, with the bulk of the show devoted to the Beach Boys's 1966 album Pet Sounds. Wilson reveled in the crowd's energy, joking around from behind his big white piano while sharing tidbits of background information on many of the songs before performing them. The crowd was understandably somber due to the worst mass shooting in U.S. history taking place less than 24 hours earlier and, for a music festival, surprisingly sober. - Billboard, 6/13/16........................ The "Stairway to Heaven" trial, in which eight jurors will decide if Led Zeppelin ripped off the famous guitar riff in the 1971 rock classic from the Spirt song "Taurus," got underway on June 14 in Los Angeles. Both Robert Plant and Jimmy Page attended and faced the potential jurors during their selection, as seven of the first 14 were dismissed, including a self-admitted huge Zeppelin fan whose "love for these two guys" is "very strong." Attorneys Francis Malofiy, representing the Trustee who manages the estate of Spirit's Randy Wolfe, and Peter Anderson, representing Zeppelin, were pleased with the next set, and a final group of four men and four women was sworn in. In a trial that's literall been decades in the making and could rewrite rock history, each side will be allowed 10 hours to present their arguments and witnesses. In a pre-trial hearing the previous day, U.S. District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled that a musicologist in Zeppelin's camp will be heard from during testimony, despite a last-ditch effort by the plaintiff to have him tossed for a conflict of interest. They claimed that noted musicologist Lawrence Ferrara had previously been hired by their own publisher to evaluate the similarities between the two songs. - Billboard/The Hollywood Reporter, 6/14/16...... Beating expectations of an impressive No. 3 bow on Billboard's Hot 200 album chart with his new album Stranger to Stranger,Paul Simon's 13th studio album has debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated June 25. It marks the 74-year-old Simon's highest-ever debut and best rank since Graceland reached the same spot in 1987. As a solo artist, Simon has scored only one previous chart-topper: 1975's Still Crazy After All These Years. The album also opens as the top-selling album overall for the week, starting at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart. In 2011, his LP So Beautiful or So What debuted and peaked at No. 2. The album's first single, "Wristband," is currently No. 18 on the Adult Alternative Songs airplay chart. In the U.K., Stranger to Stranger also bowed at the top of the pops, making it Simon's first U.K. No. 1 studio album in 26 years (his The Rhythm of the Saints spent two weeks at No. 1 in the U.K. in 1990). - Billboard, 6/14/16...... Elton John has extended his record for the most appearances in the 55-year-old history of the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart as his new single "A Good Heart" has debuted at No. 30. The song, the second single from his February-released Wonderful Crazy Night album, marks Elton's 72nd entry on the ranking, with Barbra Streisand ranking second with 64 AC hits, and Neil Diamond coming in at third with 58 AC songs. John first charted on AC chart with the No. 9-peaking classic "Your Song," which bowed on the Dec. 26, 1970, survey. - Billboard, 6/13/16...... A new docu-drama on the making of the Rolling Stones' 1972 album Exile on Main Street based on author Robert Greenfield's book about the summer the band spent working on the album has begun pre-production. Casting is underway for the roles of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for the film, to be directed by Downton Abbey director Andy Goddard. An expected release date for the film is set for sometime this winter. - Billboard, 6/14/16...... Two albums of previously unreleased Frank Zappa music, Frank Zappa for President and The Crux of the Biscuit, will be released on July 15, becoming album numbers 39 and 40 of posthumous Zappa music released since his Dec. 4, 1993, death. Frank Zappa For President consists of music mainly composed on the Synclavier, which Zappa took up after learning in 1990 that he had terminal prostate cancer. He mainly wrote modern classical music for the rest of his life. "We know that Frank wanted to run for office at various times," reads a Universal Music press release. "In the spirit of the dramatic 2016 presidential election adventures comes a release that gives us a glimpse into what could have been." The Crux of the Biscuit was initially intended for release in 2014 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of his album Apostrophe(') and features music recorded during the same sessions. After the release of many albums after his death, a new deal was struck between his estate and Universal to take a fresh look at how best to compile his unreleased music. Zappa, one of rock music's most prolific artists, released 62 albums during his lifetime, beginning with his 1966 debut Freak Out! through 1993's The Yellow Shark. - New Muiscal Express, 6/14/16...... In a new interview with Classic Rock magazine, Eric Clapton revealed that he has been suffering from a nervous system disorder called peripheral neuropathy that has made it very difficult for him to play guitar. Peripheral neuropathy is a condition that can cause muscle weakness, as well as numbness in the hands and feet and a loss of coordination. "I've had quite a lot of pain over the last year. It started with lower back pain and turned into what they call peripheral neuropathy, which is where you feel like you have electric shocks going down your leg. And I've had to figure out how to deal with some other things from getting old," the 71-year-old three-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee said. But he added that due to his struggle with alcoholism and substance abuse, "I consider it a great thing to be alive at all." "By rights I should have kicked the bucket a long time ago. For some reason I was plucked from the jaws of hell and given another chance." Clapton's latest album, I Still Do, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart after being released May 20 via Clapton's own Bushbranch imprint. - Billboard, 6/13/16...... Paul McCartney has become the first person to test Facebook's new 360 degree photo app, which allows Facebook users to post photos taken "in the round." Sir Paul posted a photo of him on June 10 posing with the crowd from his gig at the Alberto Kempes Stadium in Cordoba, Argentina. The photo ties in with McCartney's 360 degree theme of his current "One On One" tour. He has released a series of 360 degree videos talking about songs from his new compilation Pure McCartney, which was released on June 10. McCartney promised "There'll be more to come" of his 360 degree photos. McCartney is touring in Europe until June 30, before the US leg of "One On One" starts in Milwaukee on July 8, ending in Cleveland on Aug. 18. - NME, 6/10/16...... David Bowie and current pop sensation Adele will be among those celebrated at a new exhibition at London's National Portrait Gallery. The exhibit spotlights past and present famous residents of south London from all walks of life, not only musicians but also a former footballer and gay rights campaigner. The exhibition, which is free, is open until Sept. 6. - New Musical Express, 6/9/16...... He's sometimes known as "Hot Rod," but now you can refer to him as "Sir Rod." Rod Stewart has been given knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II during her annual birthday honours list. Stewart, 71, was honored in Elizabeth's June 10 list "for services to music and charity," and will be able to call himself Sir Roderick David Stewart. Stewart reacted to the news saying he had "led a wonderful life" and a "tremendous career thanks to the generous support of the great British public... This monumental honour has topped it off and I couldn't ask for anything more." Later, Stewart tweeted a link to a BBC article confirming the news with the caption "A truly monumental honour." Britain's honors are bestowed by the monarch at New Year and on her official birthday in June. Recipients are selected by committees of civil servants from nominations made by the government and the public. In descending order, the main honors are knighthoods, CBE, OBE and MBE. Knights are addressed as "sir" or "dame," followed by their name. Recipients of the other honors have no title, but can put the letters after their names. - AP, 6/10/16...... Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Lionel Richie and Chic were feted at the Songwriters Hall of Fame 47th Annual Induction and Awards ceremony at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York on June 9. Petty was inducted by former Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, to whom he is often compared. McGuinn recalled touring with Petty in the 1970s and writing with him. "He doesn't just write songs," McGuinn said. "He goes up and grabs them -- he flies up to the great wide open and catches and idea and freefalls back to earth." Petty delivered his brief acceptance speech in a slow, deadpan drawl: "I'm sorta the rock and roll white trash section of the show... Writing a song for a rock band -- you'd better bring a really good song, because they don't take it well if it's not. Many times I've gone back to the drawing board." Accepting his award, Elvis Costello called himself "the least commercially successful songwriter you have ever inducted" thanked Linda Ronstadt and her producer/manager Peter Asher for recording "Alison" in 1978, generating royalties that "kept the gas in my tour bus." As he was honored, Lionel Richie said, "I am humbled by the presence of greatness in this room... I am humbled by the fact that I am standing here holding any kind of award." The evening wrapped with Chic's Nile Rodgers leading the house band through "Le Freak," and finally joined by Sister Sledge for a rousing "We Are Family." - Billboard, 6/10/16...... The CBS television network has announced it is developing a scripted limited series about the kidnapping of millionaire heiress Patty Hearst by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) in 1974. Should the Hearst project be ordered to series, it would explore the 19-month FBI/police search and capture of Hearst, who turned SLA sympathizer and changed her name to Tania, that captivated the nation and played out on the nightly news during the course of her trial. - The Hollywood Reporter, 6/10/16...... Gordie Howe, the legendary National Hockey League player who shattered records, dropped gloves and threw elbows while helping the Detroit Red Wings win four NHL championships, died on June 10 of natural causes. He was 88. Known as "Mr. Hockey," Mr. Howe was a Canadian farm boy who developed his brute strength and incredible stamina on the Saskatchewan prairie, and could put his team ahead with a timely goal or even the score with his opponents with his elbows and fists. One of the most likeable superstars in any sport, Mr. Howe became the NHL's quintessential star during a career that lasted into his 50s. Mr. Howe helped guide the Red Wings to four NHL championships, and set NHL records with 801 goals and 1,850 points, a record that stood until Wayne Gretzky came along. "Unfortunately, we lost the greatest hockey player ever today," Gretzky tweeted after hearing of Mr. Howe's passing. "But more importantly the nicest man I have ever met," he added. - AP, 6/11/16...... Guitarist Henry McCullough, best known for his touring and recording work with Paul McCartney's Wings during the 1970s as well as also working with Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd, died on June 14 in Belfast after a long illness. He was 72. Born in Portstewart, Ireland in 1943, McCullough spent years playing blues, rock, pop and psychedelic bands in London -- touring in support of Jimi Hendrix and playing on Joe Cocker's breakthrough 1969 album With a Little Help From My Friends -- before getting tapped to join Wings for 1973's Red Rose Speedway LP. During sessions for that album he also made his way onto a Pink Floyd album when he waltzed to an adjacent studio and contributed a spoken word bit ("I don't know, I was really drunk at the time") to the Dark Side of the Moon track "Money." But it was his guitar work on the Wings track "My Love" that secured his place in rock history, as that song hit No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic. "I was very sad to hear that Henry McCullough, our great Wings guitarist, passed away today," McCartney wrote in a blog post. "He was a pleasure to work with, a super-talented musician with a lovely sense of humour. The solo he played on 'My Love' was a classic that he made up on the spot in front of a live orchestra. Our deepest sympathies from my family to his." His fellow Irish singer and musician Van Morrison, with whom McCullough also worked with, said he was "very sorry" to hear about his death." I know he had some difficult times recently, but he will be remembered for his long and productive career in music... My thoughts are with his friends and family at this time," Morrison told BBC News. After his stint in Wings, McCullough signed to George Harrison's Dark Horse Records, through which he releaed his solo album, Mind Your Own Business. He then enjoyed a long and fruitful career as a session musician over the next two decades, sitting in with the likes of Roy Harper, Ronnie Lane, Eric Burdon, Marianne Faithfull and Spooky Tooth. His final albums include Belfast to Boston and Poor Man's Moon. - New Musical Express, 6/14/16.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Black Sabbath revealed its final ever tour dates on flyers handed out at the UK's Download Festival, which Black Sabbath will headline on June 11. The tour, a seven-city trek of the UK, will kick off in Manchester on Jan. 22, 2017, and then visit Glasgow (1/24), Leeds (1/26), and London's O2 for three shows (1/29-31), before wrappiing with a two nights in their hometown of Birmingham on Jan. 29 and Jan. 31. The tour is said to be the final leg of Sabbath's farewell tour "The End," which began in January 2016. "When we're home where we started, we always find it a bit nervewracking," guitarist Tony Iommi said in March. "But Birmingham means such a lot to us. It would be nice to think it could finish where it all started, in Birmingham." - New Musical Express, 6/9/16...... A new David Bowie-inspired ballet titled "Star Dust" will have its world premiere June 18 at Detroit's Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts. Commissioned during the early spring and announced in May, "Star Dust" will be about 35 minutes long and feature all 15 of New York's Complexion Contemporary Ballet dancers performing routines to several Bowie favorites such as "Space Oddity," "Changes," "Modern Love" and "Life on Mars?" - Billboard, 6/8/16...... Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has revealed details of his first ever solo album, a country-infuenced LP titled We're All Somebody From Somewhere. Hitting stores on July 15, the LP was co-produced by Tyler, T Bone Burnett, Dan Huff and others. Well-known Nashville songwriters Chris DeStefano, Rhett Akins, the Warren Brothers and Hillary Lindsay also contributed. Tyler gushed that the music "fell from a star" and that "I had nothing to do with this shit, it's just Nashville. There's something so magical about this town and me writing with all these people." Tyler also remarked how important a good melody is to him: "Country music still plays stuff with melody. I have a sorcerer's grasp of melody, I like to think. I'm a freak for that, so thank God they're still playing it in country." - Rolling Stone, 6/8/16...... The childhood home of Janis Joplin in Port Arthur, Tex., has been put up for sale with an asking price of $500,000. Joplin was a preschooler when her family moved into the nearly 1,500-square-foot house, which according to tax records has been appraised at only $52,500. The home has a Texas Historical Commission marker outside confirming she lived at the residence, and the seller hasn't been made public. Officials with the Museum of the Gulf Coast were contacted about acquiring the house before it went on the market this month, but declined. - AP, 6/7/16...... The beloved '60 pop band The Monkees have earned their highest-charting album since 1968 as their new LP Good Times, featuring all-new songs from such younger artists as Rivers Cuomo, Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller, debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart. The Monkees' first studio album since 1996 (and first recorded without the late Davy Jones, who died in 2012), Good Times sold 23,000 equivalent album units (22,000 in pure album sales) and commemorates the 50th anniversary of the group's formation in 1965 and the debut of its eponymous, Emmy Award-winning TV show in 1966. The three surviving Monkees (Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork) all appear on Good Times!, as does Jones on one track, via an archival recording. Also on the LP are recently completed songs that date back to the 1960s by some of the same writers who penned some of the group's biggest hits, including Neil Diamond, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. The Monkees last charted higher on the Billboard 200 back in 1968, when The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees peaked at No. 3. - Billboard, 6/9/16...... Queen guitarist Brian May posted a note on his personal website on June 8 blasting US Republican presidential hopeful Donald J. Trump's use of Queen's triumphant classic song "We Are the Champions" as Trump walked onstage after he swept the final Republican primaries the evening before. "I've had an avalanche of complaints - some of which you can see in our 'LETTERS' page - about Donald Trump using our 'We Are The Champions' track as his 'theme' song on USA TV," May wrote. "This is not an official Queen statement, but I can confirm that permission to use the track was neither sought nor given. We are taking advice on what steps we can take to ensure this use does not continue. Regardless of our views on Mr Trump's platform, it has always been against our policy to allow Queen music to be used as a political campaigning tool. Our music embodies our own dreams and beliefs, but it is for all who care to listen and enjoy." - Billboard, 6/9/16...... In other presidential campaign news, Barbra Streisand has weighed in on Hillary Clinton's historic achievement of becoming the first woman in history to become the presumptive nominee of a major American political party. "I feel a tremendous rush of pride because this is a woman who is more than qualified to be president," Streisand said in a statement. "Isn't it interesting how a barrier seems insurmountable -- until it comes down? I hope girls across the country are thinking, 'That could be me.' And like I said after the first woman got a best director Academy Award, it's about time!" - Billboard, 6/8/16...... Meanwhile, former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has expressed his general disgust with the state of the 2016 US presidential race, saying he's "saddened by the low level to which US politics has sunk." "We're better than this," writes Byrne, without ever naming any current or former candidates. "We are a country that, to the surprise of many, elected a black president In fact, folks turned out in droves to vote for (Barack) Obama. Citizens in many areas -- especially places with young, low-income, and minority populations -- got out to the polls and made themselves heard. We need to do this again." Byrne added that citizens can become involved by supporting organizations such as the Community Voters Project, whose staffers hit the pavement to register voters one-by-one, and Project Vote, a legal group that provides "advocacy, litigation, research, and technical assistance to promote voter registration laws." - Billboard, 6/6/2016...... The four original members of ABBA -- Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstand and Bjorn Ulvaeus -- reunited on June 5 for a brief 50th anniversary performance a private party in a Stockholm hotel. According to Swedish newspaper Expressen, the party featured a performance from Faltskog and Lyngstad, who sang the ABBA song "The Way Old Friends Do." Ulvaeus and Andersson joined them on stage towards the end of the song, completing a brief reunion performance from the group. Afterward, Lyngstad was quoted as saying the reunion was "absolutely amazing" and "very nostalgic," while Andersson called it a "great night." The night marked 50 years to the day since the group's principal songwriters, Ulvaeus and Andersson, first met. In 2015, Ulvaeus said that ABBA will never reform. "We took a break in '82, and it was meant to be a break," he said. "It's still a break and will remain so. You'll never see us onstage again. We don't need the money, for one thing. Usually the reason bands have reunions is that one of them is destitute and the others want to help. Fortunately that has not happened to us." - New Musical Express, 6/6/16...... In a new video interview to promote his forthcoming compilation Pure McCartney,Paul McCartney discusses how he was in Bob Dylan's hotel room in the 1960s when he began having "a mystical experience." "I could feel myself climbing a spiral walkway as I was talking to Dylan. I felt like I was figuring it all out, the meaning of life." McCartney goes on to say that he then ordered Beatles roadie Mal Evans to write down the key to it all on a piece of paper. "Mal gave me the piece of paper the next day, and on it was written 'There are seven levels.' Well, there you go, the meaning of life|" Pure McCartney drops on June 10. The new video is the third instalment of McCartney's six-part documentary for the release. - New Musical Express, 6/8/16...... In other Beatles-related news, an Internet hacker broke into the Twitter account for George Harrison, run by his estate, on June 7. Harrison's account was hacked to change his bio information to "Hey George, follow @j5zlol when you see this and shoot me a DM. I'll help you secure your accounts :) I don't want to cause you any harm, bud". The Twitter account of @j5zlol (now suspended) then claimed to not know of Harrison's death, tweeting: "Well shit I hacked someone and I didn't even know they was dead.. my bad." The hack of Harrison's Twitter account was the latest in a series of similar hacks suffered by music stars recently, including Keith Richards, Tame Impala and Tenacious D. - NME, 6/8/16...... Paul Simon is on track to score his highest charting album in 29 years with his new studio effort Stranger to Stranger. The album may bow at No. 3 on the June 25-dated Billboard 200 with over 60,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending June 9. That would mark Simon's highest ranking set since Graceland peaked at No. 3 on Apr. 4, 1987. It would also mark Simon's highest debut ever, his previous highest debut being 2011's So Beautiful or So What, which bowed at No. 4. Meanwhile, on June 3 Simon broke the bad news of boxing champ Muhammad Ali's death that same day to fans during his gig in Los Angeles. "I'm sorry to tell you this in this way, but Muhammad Ali passed away," Simon told the crowd before delivering the final verse of his song, "The Boxer." "I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains," he then sang with added poignancy. Simon also dedicated "The Sound Of Silence" to Ali during his encore. - Billboard, 6/8/16...... Cher filed a lawsuit on June 8 in Los Angeles County Superior Court against a financial management partnership she claims defrauded her out of more than $800,000 in investments that went belly-up. Cher's suit accuses SAIL Venture Partners and related firms of bundling her money into "risky and unsound" investments, and alleges SAIL's principals engaged in "malicious and fraudulent" behavior. The suit seeks financial restitution and punitive damages but didn't specify amounts. - AP, 6/8/16...... The Who is denying reports that the band has endorsed a sequel to Quadrophenia, the 1979 film based on its own rock opera set around the clashes between rival gangs in 1960s Brighton. Rumors of a Quadrophenia sequel emerned in late May, with reports in the U.K. press that it would pick up the story 37 years on from the first and feature several members of the original cast. But now Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and the band's manager Bill Curbishley, who produced the original film, have rejected any suggestions they are backing the new film. "Quadrophenia has an enduring appeal and will forever be the definitive mod film," Curbishley said in a statement on June 8. "Quadrophenia is a significant and influential film based on The Who's music, not some Carry On franchise. Any follow-up to this film could only be made by the authors of the original and would need to be worthy of the name. This karaoke sequel announced recently in the press would be totally ridiculous." He added that it was a "blatant attempt to cash in" on the original's popularity. - The Hollywood Reporter, 6/8/16...... Yusuf Islam, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, has released a video for a new song he has written called "He Was Alone," which was inspired by child refugees. Islam appears in the video for the spare, emotional ballad playing the haunting electric organ accompaniment amid scenes of a child fending for himself after leaving his family behind. "He was alone, when he was 12 / Only his thoughts, which he kept to himself / He didn't have a place to play / A friend to call, or a word to say," Islam sings in the track that mixes the fear and desperation of child refugees with hopeful dreams of rainbows, white horses and a return home. The song is the first new music from Islam since his 2014 album Tell 'Em I'm Gone. Islam will perform at a concert at the Westminster Central Hall on June 14 in honor of the #YouAreNot Alone charity. - Billboard, 6/7/16...... Bruce Springsteen, who just wrapped his five-show swing through England and Ireland, has announced he will release live albums of every one of his recent European tour stops. One show a week will be available starting June 15, with each also receiving a broadcast on the Boss' SiriusXM E Street Radio channel. Fans can pre-order any of the shows as MP3s, lossless FLAC or ALAC, high-resolution 24 bit FLAC-HD or ALAC-HD and collectible three-CD sets. His "River Tour: Europe 2016" kicked off with a May 14 show in Barcelona and included stops in Lisbon, Madrid, Dublin and London. It will continue through a July 31 date in Zurich. - Billboard, 6/7/16...... Making his first public appearance since the death of his late wife Rose Woodward, Tom Jones broke down in tears during an intervew at the Hay Festival on June 5 as he recalled his love for his late wife. "I realized that she's always been very important to me, throughout my life, but I now realize she might have been the most important thing in my life - and she still is," he said, as tears came to his eyes. Jones, 75, was interviewed by CQ editor Dylan Jones about his six-decade career in the music industry at the thirty-year-old annual gathering of artists, writers and thinkers. - Billboard, 6/7/16.... Late Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious is at the center of a copyright suit against contemporary artist Richard Prince. Prince is being accused by photographer Dennis Morris of "causing significant advertising injury" to him over several photos Morris took of Sid Vicious that Prince incorporated and/or appropriated into two of his works. The case will center around the nebulous legal principle of "fair use," which allows for the use of copyrighted works under certain conditions. Fair use requires that a piece refer back to the original piece but furthers it artistically, or "adds value." Morris' suit was filed in California on June 9 and seeks damages and any profits that came from the use and sale of Prince's work. - Billboard, 6/9/16.

Carlos Santana and his wife/drummer Cindy Blackman are set to perform the "Star-Spangled Banner" to kick off Game 2 of the 2016 NBA Finals between Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Caveliers on June 5. The global rock star will perform the national anthem in the Warriors' hometown venue of Oracle Arena in Oakland. Blackman also joined her husband in performing the national anthem at the 2015 NBA Finals. - Billboard, 6/4/16...... With former Jackson 5 member Tito Jackson scoring his first solo hit, "Get It Baby," on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, all 9 Jackson family siblings have now placed a solo single on the Hot 100 chart. "Get It Baby," featuring Big Daddy Kane, debuted at No. 30 on the Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks chart dated June 11, and climbed to No. 26 on the Adult R&B Songs airplay chart in its second week. The Jackson siblings' solo chart runs date back to Oct. 30, 1971, when Michael Jackson's debut single, "Got to Be There," bowed at No. 89 on the Hot 100. Since then, Rebbie, Jackie, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Randy, Janet and now Tito Jackson have all scored hits on a Billboard songs chart. In other Jackson news, the Las Vegas mansion where Michael reportedly occasionally lived from 2007 until his death in 2009 is up for sale for $9.5 million. Known as the "Thriller Villa," the 1.7-acre compound with seven bedrooms and 12 full bathrooms is northwest of the famous Las Vegas Strip. In June 2009, Jackson was found dead at another rented home in California. - Billboard/AP, 6/3/16...... In an interview with London's The Evening Standard paper, David Bowie's producer Tony Visconti revealed that "great" unreleased Bowie music is likely to be released in the near future. "I think it's logical that, over the next few years, you're going to hear a lot of stuff that you haven't heard before. I'm in talks with his management and his label - there's going to be some great Bowie stuff coming out," Visconti said. But the producer added that he couldn't confirm the whereabouts of five additional songs he produced during the sessions of Bowie's final album Blackstar. "I haven't heard those songs yet. I might actually have to help his management company find them. I have an idea where he might have recorded them." Visconti said it was more likely initially that extra songs recorded during sessions for other Bowie albums would be released first. Bowie is known to have recorded many songs that were never officially released before his January 2016 death, including an entire album, Toy, recorded in 2001 in between his LPs Hours and Heathen. In July, a new BBC4 documentary The People's History of Pop will also feature unreased Bowie music. - New Musical Express, 6/3/16...... An Axl Rose-fronted AC/DC played its first ever gig at London's Olympic stadium on June 4 in a spectacular show which featured pyrotechnics, flames, fireworks and, of course, giant cannons. This time Rose was walking instead of sitting in the "throne" he borrowed from Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl after recently breaking his foot, wearing a boot which allowed him to move around freely as he rattled through AC/DC classics during the mammoth two hour and 10 minutes set. The band's encores included "Highway to Hell" before cannons appeared onstage for the finale on "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)." The track ended with a short firework display. On June 1, AC/DC announced the rescheduled U.S. dates of their Rock or Bust Tour. The leg begins on Aug. 27 in Greensboro, N.C., also visiting Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Atlanta, Columbus, Oh., Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo, New York City, and Washington, D.C. before wrapping on Sept. 20 in Philadelphia. It will be the last dates with Rose on vocals. On June 4, the band's previous vocalist, Brian Johnson, said he had met with an in-ear technology specialist and is employing technology which absorbs harmful pneumatic pressures inside your ear canal and could help restore his hearing. "It works. It just totally works and you can't argue with that. I was really moved and amazed to be able to hear music again like I haven't heard for several years now," Johnson said in a statement. Johnson added he "can't wait for it to be miniaturised so I can use it in every situation from normal communication, going out to noisy restaurants, [and] performing live music onstage." - NME/Rolling Stone, 6/5/16...... Ringo Starr kicked off a 19-date U.S. tour with his All-Starr Band on June 3 in Syracuse, N.Y., and the legendary drummer says he's working on 8 songs as his home studio in Los Angeles for a new album release, the followup to 2015's Postcards From Paradise, hopefully in early 2017. Ringo says two were co-written with Toto and All-Starr Band guitarist Steve Lukather and will be finished during the upcoming tour. "We've got the tracks down; now we have to write the words," Starr says. "We know where it's going. We've got the idea. We've got the first verse of one of them. The second will be a ballad. We're gonna finish them while we're on the road." Another track, meanwhile, is a collaboration with Dave Stewart originally intended for a country album the two were hoping to finish in June before the All-Starr tour was scheduled. "We'll do the country album another time now. There's lots you can do," Ringo says. Meanwhile, Starr is gearing up for his 75th birthday celebration on July 7 -- with details to be announced -- as well as the 10th anniversary of the Cirque du SoleilLOVE show in Las Vegas and the fall 2016 premiere of Ron Howard's documentary about the Beatles' touring years in America. - Billboard, 6/2/16...... The Grateful Dead spinoff band Dead & Co. announced on June 2 that they will still perform their June 10 show in Charlotte, N.C., despite speaking out against that state's controversial anti-LGBT law. Instead of canceling the concert, Dead & Co. say they plan on donating $100,000 to the Human Rights Campaign and Equality North Carolina. They will also host organizations fighting discrimination so concertgoers can learn more about the law and its impact. The band added that it will "assemble a 'Participation Row' social action area at the show, where we'll host local organizations fighting discrimination and national organizations dedicated to voter registration and protecting the planet." - Billboard, 6/2/16...... The death of Prince in his Minnesota home on the morning of Apr. 21 has been attributed to an opioid overdose, according to tests results seen by law enforcement officials. Since his death, it was widely reported that the 57-year-old musicians had been abusing painkillers, and that he had been scheduled to meet with an addiction specialist doctor on Apr. 22. The Carver County, Minn. Sheriff's Office opened a criminal investigation shortly after the singer's death. A search warrant was issued, but the documents were sealed, so details are unclear. - The Hollywood Reporter, 6/2/16...... In a new interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Roger Daltrey slammed the practice of Internet streaming, saying "musicians are getting robbed every day." "You get paid for streaming, my ass," Daltrey said. "Musicians are getting robbed every day. And now it's creeping into film and television, everything now. You notice, the Internet is a slowly but surely destructive thing in all ways." The Who singer added that he's unconvinced that the Internet has improved people's lives: "Look up for a while. Live in the real world." Daltrey added that he's working on a solo record, but has no idea if he'd ever release it. As for a new the Who album, Daltrey said "We've talked about it, but it's not going to be easy... Why would I make a record? I would have to pay to make a record. There's no royalties so I can't see that ever happening. There's no record business. How do you get the money to make the records? I don't know. I'm certainly not going to pay money to give my music away free. I can't afford to do that. I've got other things I could waste the money on." The musician also noted that his battle with viral meningitis in 2015 "took quite a heavy toll on me physically... My legs aren't good. My feet aren't good. But I think being able to manage it with the adrenaline of the show, that's all the matters. It's two hours of losing myself and forgetting about my feet." - Rolling Stone, 6/2/16...... Tom Petty's side project Mudcrutch has released its sophomore effort, 2, and this one feels like more of a band effort than 2008's decades-delayed debut. All of the members get writing credit, and the songs tend to lean toward punchy Southern rock. But guitarist Tom Leadon's "The Other Side of the Moutnain" is a bluegrass benediction cut with psych-rock guitar charge. The album has debuted on Billboard's Top Rock album chart at No. 3 on its initial week of release, moving 32,000 units. Mudcrutch's 2008 self-titled debut album hit No. 2 on the same chart. - Rolling Stone/Billboard, 6/2/16...... Meanwhile, Eric Clapton's latest effort I Still Do has debuted at No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums chart dated June 11, with 44,000 copies sold. I Still Do is Clapton's 23rd solo studio album is his first No. 1 on Top Rock Albums since 2010's self-titled Clapton LP, which sold 47,000 in its first week. Right behind Slowhand on the chart is Bob Dylan, whose Fallen Angels bowed at No. 2 in its first week, with 42,000 sold. Fallen Angels is Dylan's 22nd top 10 LP, a tally begun with 1965's No. 6-peaking Bringing It All Back Home. - Billboard, 6/2/16...... Speaking of Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones have reportedly collaborated with the legendary guitarist on their new album. According to the UK tabloid The Sun, Clapton and the Stones recently ran into each other at a west London recording studio and have since recorded two songs together with producer Don Was. "Eric was in the next studio along so he came in to say hello. They ended up jamming and recorded two songs," a source is quoted as saying in the paper. "Don reckons it's the best thing he has ever done with the Stones." - New Musical Express, 6/2/16...... On June 3, Billy Joel dedicated his 1974 song "The Entertainer" to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during his show at Madison Square Garden, with a quip about how "entertaining" Trump has been over the past few months. Although many people took the Piano Man's dedication to Trump as a jab at the controversial politician, Trump himself apparently thought it was a compliment, tweeting on May 28: "Thank you @BillyJoel- many friends just told me you gave a very kind shoutout at MSG. Appreciate it- love your music!." In response, one fan tweeted that it "sounds like classic BillyJoel sarcasm. Democratic Gov. Cuomo is godfather to Billy's daughter." Reacting to the minor flurry of tweets about the nod to Trump, Joel emailed Time magazine on June 4 to play down the political nature of his actions. "I'm in the entertainment business. Donald Trump's campaign has been very entertaining. Aside from that, who cares about the political opinions of a piano player?" A spokesperson for Joel could not be reached for additional comment. - Billboard, 6/1/16...... A box set of Sex Pistols concerts from the 1970s entitled Live 76 will be released on Aug. 19 that includes the punk rockers' influential show at Manchester Free Trade Hall on June 4, 1976. The concert was attended by such musicians as future members of Joy Division, Morrisey and Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall. Other shows are from London, Burton-on-Trent and a concert at Chelmsford Prison. Available on CD and vinyl, the 40th anniversary Live 76 release will also feature photographs and a reproduction of The Sex Pistols' official press kit. The songs would go on to form the basis of The Sex Pistols' sole album Never Mind The Bollocks in 1977. - NME, 6/3/16...... The A&E/History Channel's remake of the classic 1977 TV miniseries Roots drew 5.3 million viewers on May 30, a somewhat modest debut in the face of stiff competition from NBA playoff basketball. However that number was enough to make Roots the most watched scripted miniseries premiere in the Nielsen ratings since 2013's Bonnie and Clyde. The original 8-part miniseries debuted on Jan. 23, 1977, and became among the top 20 highest rated telecasts of the decade.- Variety, 5/31/16...... Influential folk musician Dave Swarbrick, best known for his work as a violin player with Fairport Convention, died on June 2 in a UK hospital after a battle with emphysema. He was 75. Often referred to as "Swarb," Swarbrick began his music career in the 1950s as a guitarist in a Celtic folk band, before he went on to join Ian Campbell's group as a fiddle player. But it was his time with Fairport Convention that helped him to achieve international recognition, joining the band as a session musician in 1969 before becoming a fully-fledged member. He also worked with other luminaries of folk music, including Ewan McColl and Bert Jansch. In 2004, he underwent a double lung transplant, but still continued to play live after recovering from the operation. - NME, 6/3/16...... Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, the three-time heavyweight champion of the world and known as the most recognizable person on the planet, died on June 3 at a Phoenix, Ariz., hospital. He was 74. Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Ky., on Jan. 17, 1942, Ali first entered the world spotlight when he captured a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. At age 22 in Feb. 1964, he surprised the surly 7-to-1 favorite Sonny Liston in Miami to take the heavyweight title for the first time. "I shook up the world! I shook up the world," he shouted in the ring. Ali beat Liston again 15 months later in Lewiston, Maine. In April 1967, he was arrested in Houston after he refused induction into the U.S. Armed Forces. The New York State Athletic Commission quickly suspended his boxing license and stripped him of his title, and other state commissions followed suit. On June 28, 1971, the Supreme Court overturned Ali's conviction, and in his third fight since returning from suspension, he lost to Joe Frazier in a 15-round unanimous decision in March 1971 in New York's Madison Square Garden in "The Fight of the Century." After avenging that defeat in a non-title bout back at the Garden in January 1974, Ali fought "The Rumble in the Jungle" in Kinshasa, Zaire, with heavyweight champ George Foreman on Oct. 30, 1974, then met his old rival Frazier again in October 1975 in the Philippines for "The Thrilla in Manilla," with Ali prevailing when Frazier could not come off his stool for the 14th round. Both fighters were exhausted and struggling to survive. In September 1976, Ali beat Ken Norton in Yankee Stadium in New York in their third meeting, and seven months after a shocking loss to Leon Spinks, he avenged that defeat in New Orleans in September 1978 to become heavyweight champ for an unprecedented third time. Ali played himself in The Greatest, a 1977 Columbia film adapted from his autobiography, and in the late 1970s, he even voiced his own Saturday morning cartoon, I Am the Greatest!: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali, which saw his character jetting around the world fighting evil. Ali, named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated in 1999, was married four times, the last to the former Lonnie Williams, who survives him, as does his nine children: Maryum, Rasheda, Jamillah, Hana, Laila (a former boxer herself and reality TV star), Khaliah, Miya, Muhammad and Asaad. In his autobiography, Ali reflected on his legacy and how he would be judged. "When I'm gone, they'll just have to look at the records and look at my actions. Then it is up to the people to rank me where they want," he wrote. - Variety, 6/4/16.